I don't need to prove it. You can do that yourself. Do you have Norton System Works? If so, simply run Registry Sweep and see what happens. How many entries did it find?I was wrong earlier. The figure I quoted was off the top of my head. In fact I was wrong by a factor of 10. It wasn't tens of thousands. How about in the hundreds of thousands???!!!And that must be read every time Windows starts up.Then try reinstalling Windows. See for yourself how much faster it loads and runs. Speed will be improved not just noticeably but drastically. Then try the Registry Sweep. You will find the Registry size has been cut drastically.Happy Flying!Bill MolonyAtlanta GA USAUnder the 27L Approach to KATL--the busiest airport in the world :)

"If anyone does know of a good way to really clean the Registry, PLEASE tell me!"You brought up a very important point, which I feel some have missed. But we're really faced with two issues when tracking registry related slowdowns.A bloated registry may slow Windows' loading, but it will not slow Windows down on its own. But an out of control registry may be loading VXD's and DLL's that are no longer needed on a system. And a registry doesn't have to be "bloated" to get out of control. Regardless, even these circumstances can be fixed with manual intervention, as opposed to a full blown reformat. Numerous sites (including MS) have documented how to handle registry "bloat". In a nutshell, it involves deleting orphan keys, deleting references to VXD's and DLL's that are no longer needed, and deleting other "orphan" items--uninstall keys, etc... Then, one exports the registry to a text file, deletes the registry, then builds a new one from the exported text. The registry is like any other database--when a key is deleted, it does not free up the space the key used. The export/import method does.... Some may vouch for automated utilities--I prefer to handle the registry manually. Another key thing to track is what is the registry loading into your system, before and after program installs and uninstalls. I use System Information to track loaded processes--device drivers, Dll's and exe's--I always do this before and after every program install. You are also right to point out how bloated the registry can become. If anyone here has ever installed, uninstalled and reinstalled Creative's software, you're in for a shock when you look at your registry. I've seen the registry grow over 12 Megs from just going through this process. There is a large amount of junk that gets put in the registry an never cleaned...it annoys the heck out of me. Yet even if cleaned, the space is still taken in the registry, and the procedure I outlined above is the only good way, short of a reformat, to handle it.-John